(Photo : Carnaby Gilany on Unsplash)

A recent neurobiological study has produced pioneering scientific evidence to prove that riding a motorcycle has potential physical and mental benefits. This discovery was made by a group of scientists seeking to find new ways to reduce the rising levels of stress among young adults and improve their overall mental and physical health.

The study attempted to determine how motorcycle riding can affect a person's sensory processing and concluded that riding a motorcycle can decrease stress and improve mental focus.

This begs the question of whether more people would be willing to pick up this sport, to improve their general well-being. It's no news that many people consider motorcycling a dangerous and life-threatening activity, as compared to other forms of exercise such as going to the gym or going on a run. 

According to The Barnes Firm, a group of Los Angeles Motorcycle accident attorneys, "Regardless of how responsible and safe the motorcycle rider is, all it takes is one wrong move or one distracted driver to cause a serious accident."

However, considering the most recent study on the topic, many more citizens may begin to embrace motorcycle riding as a form of exercise as the benefits of this activity begin to outweigh its potential risks. In the past, a 2020 research commissioned by ING Australia found that motorcycle riders seem happier and are a lot less stressed than motorists. Another similar study conducted by the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA confirmed that bike riding reduced the biomarkers of stress on a rider by 28%. These two studies were published in the ETOI.

Several other benefits of motorcycling have also been confirmed by motorcycle lovers over the years. Some of these benefits are purely physical and therefore very obvious while others are mental. They include:

Optimistic Outlook

Many motorcyclists report feeling more joy after they've just taken a ride. Scientists have reported a release of feel-good hormones during motorcycle riding. These hormones help put the rider in a good mood. They also improve pleasure levels and reduce pain. These feel-good hormones also produce a joyful feeling at the end of a ride, giving a rider the impression that a huge weight has been lifted off them. Bike riding has been said to serve a similar function as meditation. It's therefore little wonder that even as oil and gas prices soar in recent times, the demand for electric bikes has surged as many motorcyclists would rather switch the electric bikes than spend weeks or months not riding.

Improved Cognitive Function and Co-ordination

An older study by Ryuta Kawashima, in partnership with Tohoku University and Yamaha Japan, discovered that motorcycling is capable of improving one's cognitive function, by as much as fifty percent. To ride a motorcycle successfully, one must remain alert and be able to solve problems on the go. Riders get accustomed to making life and death decisions in split seconds, whether it's getting out of the road for a speeding truck or keeping steady on slippery roads. This means that motorcycle riding activates the rider's brain and improves their cognitive thinking. By constantly having to use their limbs on the clutch, throttle, and brakes, riders also build an improved level of coordination.

Improved Physical Strength

Many motorcyclists will feel aches and pains after their first few times riding, this only means that some core muscles are being engaged and strengthened. A day on the motorcycle will strengthen one's neck. Even if the neck and muscles appear to ache after the first few rides, in the long run as long as a rider uses the right gear and maintains the correct posture, the body grows considerably stronger.

Most movement one makes on a motorbike involves the use of the core. Even though most of these movements are considered low-impact, low intensity, and low-speed maneuver, it strengthens the core in the long run.

Furthermore, the constant movement of a rider's thighs and knees while on a bike is also said to strengthen the knees. These movements are so low-impact that they feel therapeutic to riders who suffer thigh and knee pains and help them stay free of injury. The increase in physical strength that happens with bike riding is said to be so gradual, that many simply miss it. Many motorcycle riders do not start off being particularly strong or muscular, however, the more time they spend riding, the stronger their muscles get, and in time they're able to handle complex motorcycle models.